My significant other, Mr "I'm Not A Dog Person" severely allergic to dogs drag racing redneck informed me this morning that, when Nixon is gone, he wants another Irish Setter. "They're fun" he says. Yikes! Man, my arm sure hurts from being twisted. LOL! The search is on for the killer Irish Setter puppy now. I'm researching breeders and genetics right now and will start talking to people when the shows start up this spring. I've been in this game long enough to know it will probably take me a couple of years to find the perfect one. I couldn't believe it! Nixon is 11 years old and is really starting to show signs of his age. He's stone cold deaf and his spine is showing signs of arthritis. But he's still a freaking character and we love him dearly. I've been able to train him with hand signals - he's such a good boy. And he's still a lunatic at the dog park. LOL! I run him with Stormy because she's the least likely to lead him into another zip code. If I call her, she comes right to me and he follows.
On a similar note - another HUGE surprise... Amber is TRAINABLE! I've had to sneak up on her so she didn't know she was being trained, but she obeys sit and down (not a small feat for a Saluki!) and in a relatively short period of time. I'm so excited about the prospect of having an agility Saluki, which is what I'm working toward. It looks like Amber, the one that I wouldn't have given a prayer's chance in hell of being trainable, is going to be more than an eye candy breed Champion. [sm=lol.gif]